The University of Wisconsin (UW) Law School announced Thursday that it would no longer participate in the annual U.S. News Survey law school ranking. This move follows similar decisions made by other law schools, including Harvard and Yale. According to UW Law School, the rankings do not align with the school’s emphasis on accessibility and affordability. The school cited three specific reasons for its decision to withdraw from the survey.
First, UW Law School stated that the survey ignores debt considerations completely, which is a significant priority for the school in keeping the cost of law school down for students. 36% of UW Law School students graduate without any debt.
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Second, the survey penalizes schools that license students who do not take the bar exam. UW Law School students who graduate can practice in Wisconsin without taking the bar exam, which eliminates a barrier to practicing in the state. However, this led to the school’s ranking to drop significantly in 2022 when the metric was changed.
Third, UW Law School officials claim that the ranking could be more helpful for students deciding on a law school. The school’s ranking has fluctuated in the past four years, but the quality of the school does not change as often as the survey may indicate. Additionally, the U.S. News results are not freely available to those who want to view them. In response, UW Law School has created its consumer considerations page for prospective law students to provide them with reliable and accurate information.
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UW Law School opts out of annual U.S. News Survey